First truck carrying fuel arrives in Gaza

Israel signals wider operation in south amid international calls for cease-fire

JERUSALEM/GAZA — The first truck carrying fuel into Gaza since the start of the Palestine-Israel conflict has crossed from Egypt to deliver diesel to the United Nations, as Israel presses its hospital raid despite mounting international calls for a cease-fire.

The delivery was made possible by Israel giving its approval for 24,000 liters of diesel for UN aid distribution trucks and not for use at hospitals, a humanitarian source said on Wednesday.

But it may do little to alleviate shortages that have hampered relief efforts. "This is only 9 percent of what we need daily to sustain lifesaving activities," Thomas White, director of UN relief agency UNRWA in Gaza, posted on social media platform X. He confirmed that just over 23,000 liters, or half a tanker, had been received.